This new disclosure is an improvement over the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,761 by Portnoy and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,577, 6,920,399, 7,008,448 by Lipshitz et al. These patents disclose an intra-ocular implant that contains mirrors for modifying central vision for patients who suffer from retinal diseases such as macular degeneration (AMD) and for the treatment of presbyopia. The above-mentioned patents deal with changing (increasing or decreasing) the size of an object on the central retina as needed for AMD and other retinal patients. The above-mentioned patents suffer from several shortcomings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,761 describes an implant creating one magnified image on the retina, but the implant as shown is smaller than the pupil opening, and this limits the visual improvement that can be achieved using the implant. The implant comprises of mirrors only. The mirrors are not combined with other optical tools and are designed to assist patients suffering from Age-related macular degeneration and not other retinal diseases. Furthermore, lens capsular bag or iris-supported implantations, which are known to be popular and effective, are not included in the above-mentioned patent. The mirrors in that patent are spherical, which prevents the user from getting the optical qualities that are required. The mirrors are embedded inside the implant making them much more complicated to manufacture than mirrors that are attached or vaporized on the surface of the implant. The invention taught in the patent does not answer the need of patients who have undergone cataract surgery and the implant is not designed as a secondary implant, added to an existing intra ocular lens in the eye.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,577, 6,920,399, 7,008,448 by Lipshitz et al. describe an implant with only one central visual field and one peripheral visual field but they do not address implants with more than one central field and/or more than one peripheral field. Under those patents, the central field may be magnified, whilst the peripheral field is left unchanged, but the magnification creates an under illuminated image on the center of the retina compared to the periphery and both images may overlap at least partially. There is a need to assist the patient in detecting both images and seeing the differences between the fields and in reducing the overlap and reducing the differences in illumination between those images so that the patient would be able to detect the central image as well.
Both Portnoy's patent (one magnified image) and Lipshitz's patents (an option of more than one image on the retina) mentioned above, describe an implant made of one piece. Depending on the configuration of the mirrors in those implants, it is difficult or impossible to manufacture such implants made of a single piece. An assembly of two or more pieces, manufactured separately is needed. Those implants cannot be manufactured with mirrors that are not dielectric or mirrors that not vaporized. Not all of the materials that make the mirrors and the implants' body member are sufficiently proven to be biocompatible and there is need to prevent the eye from coming into contact with hazardous and toxic materials. Furthermore, the patents above do not answer the need of patients undergoing cataract surgery for an implant with a solution to a progressive disease that during the cataract implantation is either still non-existent or gradually becoming more severe.
Prior art on intra ocular implants intended to help individuals suffering from presbyopia (need for reading glasses) discloses implants with lenses, diffractive optics elements and prisms but does not include implants with mirrors, whether combined or not with other optical components. Lipshitz (U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,399) discloses an implant with dynamic mirrors that are regulated from the outside of the eye but are not affected from within the eye by the ciliary muscle or its effect. There is a need for a dynamic intra ocular implant with optical components such as mirrors that are small enough and can change their properties and position in order to support psuedo-accommodation.
Existing static designs of intra ocular implants that create more than one focal point for patients suffering from presbyopia do not include mirrors.
For patients with various retinal and non-retinal eye diseases, there is a need for an intra ocular implant that helps the patient determine the light illumination that he needs in any part of his retina, also enabling the patient to control relative light illumination between different parts on the retina.